i realize an amp should never be screwed directly into the vehicle due to grounding issues but was wondering if there are any other acceptable mounting brackets rather than simple MDF board. reason i ask is because while at a local shop i noticed that they were anchoring the amps in a Range Rover down via what looked to be Billet Rails...no MDF or anything. must admit it looked pretty sweet...

 

Ideally, you shouldn't mount the amp to the chassis directly. But, in many cases, the heatsink of the amp is at the same potential as the chassis ground and it won't hurt. Some amps, such as an Orion I had, have a different potential on the heatsink. If grounded to the car, the fuses would blow. It had to be mounted on wood.

The Range Rover setup you saw may have used nylon stand-offs. Just an idea.

 

Sheet of cut aluminum with rubber grommets around the screws.

Had this on my old miata, and it worked great. No grouding issues. Aluminum is also easy to find and to work with.

John

 

If you just don't like the idea of wood (as I don't), other options include polycarbonate, acrylic, and HDPE. A bit more expensive than wood, but lighter, stronger, much more aesthetically pleasing, and also easy to work with. The only issue to be conscious of is the possibility of slight heat expansion.